Okay, I've ordered a few sets from Bricklink over the last year or two and that's a piece of pie. I'm now trying to make some orders for pieces to be filled by a store or three and it's hard work. I'd like to know how others go about this because unless you're after some general pieces, it takes ages. What do you do to compare prices and shipping to find a price you're happy with?

I'm having a stab at this project (finally) so I'm after about 60 different pieces of varying quantities ranging from 1 to 40 (sadly more 1's and 2's than anything else). I have a spreadsheet that has the Peeron part numbers and descriptions as well as the quantity in each set and a total. I have then listed a few stores and their prices, shipping and naturally I need to be mindful of store requirements like average lot price etc.

It's quite a lot of work (not entirely surprising) so I'm wondering if there's a better / smarter way I can go about this (as well as being generally interested in how others go about this)?

Add all the parts you need to a wanted list, then search for the most specialized part on your list. When you're at a store, hit there should be a button near the top left that will show all of the parts on your wanted list that that store has.

Medieval Guy wrote:Add all the parts you need to a wanted list, then search for the most specialized part on your list. When you're at a store, hit there should be a button near the top left that will show all of the parts on your wanted list that that store has.

Agreed, but you might want to disable the e-mail notification. That only really helps if you are searching for a part in a rare color.

JoshWedin wrote:Unfortunately there is no easier way that I know about. Bricklink is an awesome resource but it lacks some functions that could make it so much easier to use.

This is pretty much what I've found.

Medieval Guy wrote:Add all the parts you need to a wanted list, then search for the most specialized part on your list. When you're at a store, hit there should be a button near the top left that will show all of the parts on your wanted list that that store has.

I'll have a look. Ta. That might be useful.

gedren_y wrote:Agreed, but you might want to disable the e-mail notification. That only really helps if you are searching for a part in a rare color.

Cheers, I'll keep that in mind.

The approach I've taken is to find someone who has a lot of a particular piece which I need a lot of and then find out what else they have that I'm after. The first one I've found should be able to fill about a good third of the order and basically has a flat rate for shipping and no lot restrictions.

I also have a list of sets that are missing various parts. I'm a bit of a 'completest' so having incomplete sets irks me a little. This might be a bit of a challenge to correct over time, especially considering that most of the sets are mixed together so it'll be hard to confirm that they and up being complete

Redav wrote:I also have a list of sets that are missing various parts. I'm a bit of a 'completest' so having incomplete sets irks me a little. This might be a bit of a challenge to correct over time, especially considering that most of the sets are mixed together so it'll be hard to confirm that they and up being complete

I'm like this too, I want the set to be complete with correct colors ect., but do not want to order and have to pay shipping on a piece or two. So I usually just substitute a piece and then forget about it.

Dad's AFOL Supplies store is the one store that I have seen with this feature, but it searches his store by set and tells you what pieces he has from the set. Its a great feature and surprised more stores don't have it. http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=DadsAFOL

I also have a list of sets that are missing various parts. I'm a bit of a 'completest' so having incomplete sets irks me a little. This might be a bit of a challenge to correct over time, especially considering that most of the sets are mixed together so it'll be hard to confirm that they and up being complete

I had this issue too. And as long as I kept buying sets on ebay, I kept having this issue. What I did was add everything I needed to my wanted list. Then on the wanted page, I click "My wanted list by shop", then sort by Lots(Unique). Then I checked out the shops on the top of the list and placed an order from one. I never got everything on my list, but I did get a lot of it. Then I waited for my wanted list to get long enough to make it worth doing again.

biglesdug wrote:Dad's AFOL Supplies store is the one store that I have seen with this feature, but it searches his store by set and tells you what pieces he has from the set. Its a great feature and surprised more stores don't have it. http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=DadsAFOL

Ah, neat feature, I'll have a look. Last night I manged to build an XML file of the stuff I'm after and have split it into two wanted lists for large quantities and small quantities.

jediknight219 wrote:And as long as I kept buying sets on ebay, I kept having this issue. What I did was add everything I needed to my wanted list. Then on the wanted page, I click "My wanted list by shop", then sort by Lots(Unique). Then I checked out the shops on the top of the list and placed an order from one. I never got everything on my list, but I did get a lot of it. Then I waited for my wanted list to get long enough to make it worth doing again.

It's a pretty typical scenario. Doesn't normally bother me so much however there was one auction that I won which took 6 months to arrive (it accidently went to Poland first) and when it arrived, it was missing 10% of the pieces, not .1% as the auction claimed.

I think I'll have an easier time of getting these brown pieces (although not all the pieces I'm after exist as Old Brown) than I will when I hunt down these other missing pieces.

Well I ended up doing what was suggested and it has worked out. I have one more order to submit. It's been a bit of a mission due to the nature of what I'm doing. I'm sure this could have been easier / cheaper but oh well, what's done is done. I just hope they all turn up as there's some relatively rare bricks in there.

Medieval Guy wrote:Add all the parts you need to a wanted list, then search for the most specialized part on your list. When you're at a store, hit there should be a button near the top left that will show all of the parts on your wanted list that that store has.

Almost all of the orders have arrived. Just waiting for some figs from Canadia and a Frenchie one. Swapped out all the parts I can but I still have to order at least one more part. Interestingly enough, this part is listed as available even though BL and Peeron don't list it as a possible piece. Oh well, happy to gamble a few bucks on it.

However it's a shame that BrickLink has been copping some attacks lately and they've been trying to get things back under control.